[2] He was the son of Frank Howson and Christine DeGroat Jenkins; his mother was the publisher of The Dawn of Tomorrow, an important early Black Canadian community newspaper which had been founded by her first husband James Jenkins.
[2] He was also the half-brother of broadcaster and activist Kay Livingstone, his mother's daughter with James Jenkins.
[2] He subsequently attended the University of Western Ontario, playing basketball at the university level, before playing at the senior level for the Toronto Dow Kings, who served as Canada's Olympic basketball team in 1964.
[2] He subsequently completed a master's in education at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, and became a high school teacher and athletics coach in Sarnia in his professional life.
[2] In February 2024, the error was rectified with the organization presenting him with a trophy and a special framed Olympic jersey to commemorate his achievement.